Dead Frontier/Issue 93
This is Issue #93 of Dead Frontier, titled Even The Score. ''This is the third issue in '''Volume 16.' Issue 93 - Even The Score "Yeah, it's risky, but do any of you really think it's not worth it?" Alec asks as he and a small group of others--Lienne, Luke, Billie, Alec, and Tora--are gathered around the counter in his suite. "I don't think it is, to be honest with you," Lienne says, not convinced by the flimsy plan Alec has concocted to deal with Roxie. The traditional ambush: attack her camp when they least expect it and take out as many of them as they can. Alec sighs at her response, hoping that this time he would be able to get through to her. "Lienne, I really need you to listen to me. We can't sit back and do nothing forever. I don't want to do this, either, but if I have to, I will. Because I love this place, and if we get rid of her--the problem--''maybe'' we can go back to living normally again." "Look, Alec, I know you're acting on emotion and everything, but you really need to think straight." "No one's acting on emotion; I'm just thinking about the hotel and what's best for everyone." "What you're thinking about is Devon," she says, words that bring a heavy silence over the room. "I know you want to...to get revenge or something, but putting everyone else in danger to do it...I don't like that. I'm sorry, Alec, but it's true and you know it...We don't even know anything about them. There could be hundreds of them, with guns and bombs and trucks...whatever. You really need to think this through." "I have thought it through, and I know this is the only way," Alec says harshly. "It isn't. Tora, back me up. Please." "Uhh..." Tora hesitates. "I kind of agree with him." Lienne sighs and looks back and forth between all five of them. "So I'm alone on this? That we shouldn't go in and massacre a ton of people?" Luke raises his hands up defensively and says, "I kinda just got here so..." "You said it yourself when we let you in. If we needed some capable hands to fight, you'd be for it," Alec reminds him. "Okay...I did say that. Alright, whatever, man. I'm with you." "Adam, Billie?" Lienne says, and she silently hopes at least one of them is on her side. "I'm with Alec. Sorry. She killed almost twenty of us," Billie says. "And she's the reason we don't know where the hell Hiro and Duke even are. The sooner we end it, the better." Expecting that response, Lienne turns to Adam, who replies with a simple "Sorry, Lienne." "That's just great," Lienne says, walking to the door. "But if you're gonna do this, try and think of a plan that probably won't get half you killed." ---- As soon as Roxie releases the infected's leash, it lunges at Hiro, but his reflexes kick in and he pushes it away harshly. He jumps to his feet, ready to fight back against it, and even Roxie, but he ends up face to face with the barrel of the pistol held in Roxie's hand. But with the infected stumbling to its feet again, he has to decide to deal with the psycho with a gun or the corpse ready to devour him. But he can't choose because Roxie fires two shots into his chest that knock him to the ground. She quickly grabs for the infected’s leash again before it can attack her, and turns it on Hiro, who is now easy fodder. He clutches at his chest as he begins to bleed out and, knowing it’s no use attempting to fight back in this state, he prepares for the feeling of teeth sinking into his flesh. Of being eaten alive. As soon as Roxie exits the building after her chat with Hiro, Walter and Sterling jog after her, immediately noticing she no longer has the leashed infected in her grasp. "Didn't crack, did he?" Walter asks. "Nope. Corpse food now, unfortunately. Send someone to get his body in about...twenty minutes." “Shit...did you even give him a chance?” Sterling asks. “Why would I waste my time?” ---- “I lost my dad young, too, you know, and it was hard, of course--really difficult--but I got through it,” Joe says, sitting across from Lucy at a cafeteria table, a comforting hand on top of hers. “If I could, you can, too. I’ve known you a while, and I gotta say, you’re a pretty strong girl.” “Thank you, Joe,” Lucy says, managing to give him a smile that he happily reciprocates. “Don’t mention it.” “So, what was he like? Your dad.” “Oh,” Joe says, and he seems to be caught off guard. He scratches his head before replying, “Uh...he was a really happy-go-lucky guy, ya know? And...” His mind hits a blank; it’s the first time he’s thought of his father in years, and the fact that he can’t remember his own dad’s face stuns him so much he sits in a few seconds of shocked silence. “You don’t--if you don’t want to, you don’t have to answer,” Lucy says, regretting even asking the question. “Sorry.” “Ah, no, forget about it,” he says, then chuckles at himself. “Wow, bad choice of words there, huh?” His nonchalance about the entire situation makes her laugh, and he pats her hand once more. Lucy, finding it a little therapeutic talking with Joe, changes the subject and chats with him a little longer, until, for the first time since his return yesterday, she sees Cole. He still looks drained of all of his energy as he grabs a cold plate of food from the counter and heads to their table. “Hey, look who it is,” Joe says cheerfully as Cole sits at the table next to Lucy, giving her a kiss on the cheek “How are you feeling?” “Fine, Joe,” he says. “Finally decided to come out of your room?” Lucy asks, and her tone rubs him the wrong way, although he knows it shouldn’t. “Oh, okay, look at the time. I should go,” Joe says a bit awkwardly, waving at them as he scurries from the table. “Thought that’s what you wanted,” Cole says once Joe is out of earshot. “It is. Would’ve really appreciated it if you didn’t run off in the first place.” Cole sets down his fork, the silver clanking loudly against the plate, and turns to her. “Okay, I’m sorry for...whatever it is you’re mad about. Good enough?” “‘Whatever it is I’m mad about?’ Holy shit, I think you’re dead for two days, you come back, and you barely talk to me. Barely talk to anyone. You were perfectly fine when you first got here and then you just...disappeared.” “Because I wanted to get myself together.” “And I want to know why you had to get yourself together in the first place. But you won’t tell anyone what the hell happened to you.” “Okay, then. I got shot, kidnapped, thrown in a cramped fucking cell, and prepped to be sent off somewhere as a slave. I choked an innocent guy to death, and someone who was a way better person than me, gave their life for me. That’s the condensed version; do you want to hear more?” Lucy swallows hard and sits in silence for a few seconds. “You wanted to talk right?” he continues, his voice taking on a slight edge. “That guy, they completed manipulated him. Fed him bullshit lies just to turn on me. But he was a good guy. He told me the truth about that place. And I looked him in the face, put my foot on his neck, choked him to death--” “Cole!” Lucy shouts, causing a few eyes to shift to their direction. “What?! You wanted me to tell you, and that’s what I’m trying to fucking do!” “Look, talk to me when you calm down, because I'm not dealing with this,” Lucy says as she stands from her chair and swiftly moves past him to reach the cafeteria doors. He doesn’t even call after her, but instead buries his face in his hands as the few people there mutter and stare. He wishes he could blame his outburst on someone other than himself, but he’s aware only he’s at fault. And not being able to control his emotions makes him feel a wave of shame that only results in more anger. He bangs his fist on the table and flings the plate to the ground, not worrying about wasting food as the porcelain shatters into small pieces, afterward stomping out of the cafeteria, too. ---- As Cole ascends the stairs, Lienne is on her way down, both of them nearly fuming. But when she sees him, she forces a smile and stops him on the stairs. "Oh, hey, Cole," she says. "How've you been?" "I've been alright," he says with a shrug. "Really? You look pissed." "I could say the same for you." "Because I am. Everyone's being so...stubborn and thick-skulled lately." "What's the problem?" he asks, leaning against the railing. "Alec, Billie, Tora, Luke, and Adam are all upstairs coming up with some kind of plan to take out Roxie. Like we're ready for that," she explains. "Serious?" "Yeah. And this isn't the first time I've tried to reason with them either but after the last attack...I dunno, they all seem really dead-set on it. But if we're gonna try anything, it can't be reckless. Something they don't seem to understand." Cole scoffs, those five people being the last he'd ever expect to support something like this. "Where are they?" he asks. "Alec's room," she says "This is the worst time for this shit..." he mutters, and he bounds past her, up the stairs. "You're gonna go talk to them?" she calls after him. "Gonna try." ---- "She's got a point," Adam says a few minutes after Lienne's absence. "You're not on her side now, are you?" Alec asks. "It's not about 'sides,'" Billie says. "We need to come up with a compromise, some kind of better plan. Or we bail on the idea all together. Griffin's the one to make this decision." "We don't bail on the idea," Tora says. "My brother is probably dead because of what she did, and so many other people are. And it's obvious she's not just leaving us alone." "Obviously, but Tora--" Adam begins, but he's cut off by a surprise visit from Cole, who bursts through the door without a knock, and all five sets of eyes turn to him. "Oh, hey," Adam says, and he observes with concern the disturbed expression on Cole's face. "What's going on?" Cole asks as he closes the door behind him. There's a short bout of silence that Luke breaks by clearing his throat. "We were just talking about that whole situtation with Roxie you're dealing with," Luke explains. "Yeah. I heard. And your plan is really stupid," Cole says bluntly. "Lienne told you?" Alec asks, and Cole nods. "Then you probably don't know the whole story." Billie can sense his anger building so she steps forward and says, "Cole, before you yell at us or defend Lienne or whatever you plan on doing, you need to understand we really can't live like this anymore," she says. "Like what?" Cole questions. "Scared of the fact that, at any moment, what happened at the store could happen again. And we lose more people." "And what'll your plan accomplish? You go in there with your guns, you find out she has bigger guns, and probably more of them, and then..." Cole shrugs to make his point, assuming they can figure out what'll happen in the end if they go through with it. Death, and there aren't many other outcomes. "We know that, Cole." "And you're still thinking about it?" "Yeah, because we're thinking about everyone that lives here. Not just us," she says. "There are ways to be unselfish without being stupid." "Okay. Then what do you want to do?" Billie asks, her voice rising steadily along with her impatience. "Something that doesn't involve a fucking wild massacre, maybe." "What's your problem?" Alec says, suddenly stepping forward until he stands to Billie's right. "We're thinking of some alternatives, and if there aren't any than this is what we're going with. And I can't say I'm gonna feel very bad if we do go the attack route." "But there are alternatives, and attacking them and getting completely destroyed, isn't going to accomplish anything." "And what if we can? What if we can prepare and get the guns and the skill to actually do it?" Alec counters. "So you're immediately taking the massacre route over anything else? Okay." "Why wouldn't I?" Alec nearly shouts. "Put yourself in my shoes, Cole, and imagine if...imagine if it was Lucy, and one second you're right by her side, and the next her fucking legs are blown off and you're right there. You see it. Is that easy to imagine?" Cole closes his eyes for a few seconds and takes a couple of deep breaths to try and keep his composure. "I hate to break it to you, but this is about more than Devon and whatever revenge you want for her," Cole says. "And this is a time when you need to grow up and realize that." "Fucking hypocrite, " Alec spits at him. "Alright, both of you chill," Adam says. "Hypocrite?" Cole says, ignoring Adam's attempts at any conciliatory words. "Admit it, you'd have the same mindset as me if it was Lucy--" "Except she has nothing to do with this because she isn't the one that's dead." As soon as he says it, he wishes to take it back, the words not coming out the way he intended. "Whatever, man," Alec says. "It's not your choice anyway. We'll do whatever it takes, because we care about this place." Cole can't stop his rage from tipping over the edge, no matter how hard he's tried, and he grabs Alec by the shirt, pushing him into the counter behind him and prompting Luke, Adam, Tora, and Billie to nearly jump backwards in surprise. "Don't do this. Don't even think about doing this," Cole says. "And stop trying to drag people into it. You're a heartbroken little kid that doesn't know what he's doing, and you're going to get people killed." Before Alec can respond, Cole feels a tug on his arm; he turns, and is face to face with Billie, who points to the door. "Get your hands off of him, and get out," she demands. "Billie--" "No, I don't care. Get out." "Why don't you relax before you try and get involved, Cole?" Adam advises. "You're obviously not in the right state of mind for this." "Yeah, obviously..." Alec mutters, pushing Cole away from him. "I'm not in the right state of mind?" Cole begins, but then he sighs and walks toward the door, continuing to speak with his hand on the knob. "But I'm the only one even thinking straight. Whatever, I'll leave. Not in the mood to deal with any of you." He slams the door shut, and they all stay quiet. ---- "You think they're normal?" Chloe asks as she drives along to Lane Tech with Griffin, Lienne, Kendra, and Ivy, a small convoy of cars following them. Deciding she needed a break running the infirmary now that Griffin has taken over the hotel, she decided to tag along, also intrigued by the possibility of a friendly group. "Kendra and Ivy seem pretty normal. Well, Kendra does," Griffin jokes as he drives. Ivy gives him a quick, playful scowl in the rearview mirror and goes back to chatting with Lienne. "We're normal. As normal as you guys are," Kendra. "We've got the same goal as you. Trying to live." "Alright, I think that's fair," Chloe says, and she grabs his hand. "And you've got a pretty good feeling about this. I'm trusting you and whatever you think's best." "Oh, man, that's such a bad idea," Griffin jokes, but she can sense the smallest amount of nervousness in his voice that she doesn't mention. He gives her a hopeful glance, and returns his eyes to the road. "You can sing? That's so cool. Are you good?" Ivy asks Lienne. "I don't know. I wasn't a professional or anything. I just do it for fun," Lienne replies modestly. "Did you perform?" "Sometimes. Usually just for my daycare kids. They really liked it." "Then you have to be good. Could I hear?" "I'm really rusty." "Please?" Lienne looks to Kendra, and Kendra just smiles, giving her a slight nod. "Okay, what song do you like?" Lienne asks. "Uh..." Ivy thinks for a moment. "I dunno; what'd you sing for the daycare kids?" "There were a few, actually. But they really liked Imagine. Do you know that one, the one by John Lennon?" "Who's that?" Lienne laughs. "Didn't think so. But it doesn't matter, it's a good song. I promise." She clears her throat as her only form of preparation, and with Ivy looking up at her expectantly, she begins: "Imagine there's no heaven '' ''It's easy if you try '' ''No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today..." "Woah," Ivy mutters in astonishment, and in the front seats, Griffin squeezes Chloe's hand a little harder. "Hey. What's wrong?" Chloe whispers to him as Lienne continues with the song. He sighs. "Nothing. Nothing. I just love you a lot," he says. "I'm sorry for being so busy lately and leaving you to run the infirmary. Everything happened on such short notice and...somebody had to take charge." "Come on, you don't have to apologize for that. You're the best person for the job, anyway." She leans over to give him a kiss on the cheek and gives him a firm squeeze on the shoulder as Lienne finishes the song. "Yeah. You're good," Ivy assures. "Well, I'm glad I got your approval," Lienne says with a smile. ---- After a long and tedious ride, it's mid afternoon, and they reach the school. Everyone from the Hyatt stays back as Kendra argues with an Italian man with a receding hairline in front of the entrance. His face turns cherry-red as he yells, and eventually he raises his hands in exasperation and stomps back into the school. Kendra waves them all in. "What was that about?" Griffin asks as he and Kendra walk side by side through the school with the other Hyatt residents at their backs. "That was Nico," Kendra says. "He's never excited about newcomers. Especially a group this large." "Looks like a nice guy." "He's pretty stressed out. So I'll be taking you around." Kendra takes them on a tour of the school, showcasing the various classrooms, the gymnasiums, cafeteria, auditorium, and lastly the infirmary. Kendra and Griffin open the double doors, and Lienne nearly shrieks in surprise. "Duke?!" she says, pushing past the other residents. He sits on one of the infirmary beds as a doctor tends to some scratches on his face. A pretty, brown haired woman stands next to him with her arms crossed. The doctor moves out of the way in surprise as Lienne hugs him. "What are you doing here?" she asks. "What are you doing here?" "Woah," the brown haired woman comments. "Who's this? And who are they?" "This is one of my friends from the hotel, Stef. And so are they," he says as Lienne releases him. He nods his head to everyone still standing in the doorway, and Griffin is the first to come forward. "What the hell are you doing here, man?" Griffin asks. "Ah, shit, man, I've got so much to explain. But everything's good, I promise." ---- Nearly a week passes, and for once, things at the hotel are looking up with Duke's return and a group that, this time, isn't hostile but friendly. But for Cole, with the constant nightmares and a girlfriend he's barely talked to for a week (and any conversations they do have eventually turning into a heated argument), he can't say his life has taken the positive spin nearly everyone else's has. But if he can try and fix one part of his life, he will, so at nearly one in the morning he sighs and gives a faint knock on Lucy's door. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and waits the few seconds it takes for her to reach the door. She only opens the door slightly, keeping half of her body hidden behind it. "Hi," Cole greets first. "Hi," Lucy replies, and Cole clears his throat. "I'm sorry...if I woke you up or anything." "You didn't; it's fine," she says, although she looks as tired as ever. "What is it?" "I just wanted to see you. And apologize." He wishes he could gauge her reaction, but her expression is concealed by the darkness in her room. She doesn't respond, so he takes it as a sign to continue. "I'm trying...I'm trying really hard to keep it together, but it's--it's not easy for me. And I took it out on you and that was stupid. Really--I'm sorry." A pajama-clad man yawns and walks down the corridor, passing them by, so Cole says, "Can I just come in?" She completely ignores his request, replying, "I heard about what happened with Alec last week." "Great. Fucking great. Now I really look like the bad guy." "No one said you were the bad guy. But you're not putting a lot of effort into being the good guy, either," she says. He sighs in frustration, and Lucy continues. "Look, I know you're feeling really shitty, and so am I. Maybe we should deal with everything we've got going on before we...move on." She tries to keep her voice neutral, but the sadness is still there. "...What? Lucy, come on. Didn't you want me to be there for you?" "I did. But that was before you were acting...the way you're acting. I'm--I'm not saying this is it. But we just need to come to terms with all the shit that's happened before we can help each other." "That doesn't mean you have to break up with me, Lucy." "I'm just saying--we need a break. And when we're ourselves again we can see what happens." "Wow," he scoffs. "I come back here after all that shit, and now I have to deal with this shit." "I'm sorry, but I've thought about it, and if you think about it, too, you'd know this is what needs to happen." "It doesn't have to." "It does. Because you need to step back and ask yourself if you're the same person you were before you got back here. Everyone can tell you're not. You're angry, you're violent, you're pushing everyone away." "That's why I'm here. I'm trying. I'm trying not to be all of that...Lucy, I'm in love with you, do you realize that?" Possibly the worst time to drop the bomb, but he does anyway. Apparently the least expected moment, too, because Lucy's response is nonexistent. "It's all I could think about while I was trapped in that warehouse, and when I got here--I know--I fucked up. But I was so overwhelmed by everything that happened, and I still am, and I don't know what I'm gonna do but I do know I want you to be there for me, and I'll be there for you." He waits for her to say something as she stares down at the carpet, an intentional effort to not look at him. Because she can already hear all of the pain and pleading in his voice; she can only imagine the look on his face, and she doesn't think she's strong enough to actually see it. "I'm gonna try to get some sleep," she says finally, and Cole sighs loudly. "You should, too." Not the way he wanted to end the night at all, he stands in a stunned, hurt silence as she closes the door on him without another word. As soon as she's alone, she sits on the carpet, leaning her back against the door, knees pulled to her chest. On the other side, Cole slumps down against the door, both of his hands on top of his head, an expression of complete disbelief plastered onto his face. Category:Dead Frontier Issues Category:Dead Frontier Category:Issues Category:Walkerbait22's Stories